OpinionEunice Yung’s pregnancy means it’s time to discuss maternity leave for Hong Kong lawmakers
Alice Wu says that with the upcoming addition to legislator Eunice Yung’s family, the Legislative Council needs to address its lack of formal leave time for new parents, but do so in an appropriate way – pregnancy is not an illness and shouldn’t be treated like one
It’s certainly news in Hong Kong, a place we would like to believe is cosmopolitan and progressive but isn’t. If anything, women’s representation in Legco has regressed — from 18 per cent in 2008, to 15.7 in 2012 and now 14.7.
Yung should be congratulated and commended for her courage. That her next several months will be challenging and life-transforming is an understatement. And Yung won’t need What to Expect When You’re Expecting to know that her impending marriage and family life will be played out very publicly, and will invite even more unsolicited comments, advice and criticism.
It may be surprising to know that our lawmakers are not entitled to maternity leave, because as this paper’s report on Yung explained, lawmakers in Hong Kong are “officially regarded as serving a public duty and not employed by the legislature”.
And speaking of unsolicited advice, it has been suggested that Yung can take leave with full pay and allowance, like the late rural leader Lau Wong-fat, who went on leave when he was too ill to attend Legco meetings in 2015 and 2016. This may have been well-intended, but the parallel ignores the fact that while being pregnant may make many ill, pregnancy is not an illness.